Chester’s eyes widened in alarm as he hurried towards me. “Is everything okay, Reid?”
I frowned over my coffee at him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
He gave a relieved sigh as he turned to unlock the back door. “You’re here early. I panicked in case something had happened. You haven’t had any more trouble from your family?”
That’s right—I hadn’t spoken to Chester since leaving the shop with the furry cavalry. I waved a hand towards the woods. “Nope. We can thank my bodyguards for that.”
Chester squinted in the direction of the trees. “I can’t see anyone.”
“Nah, me neither,” I said over my shoulder as I went to stash my bag. “Calan’s out there somewhere though. Logan sat on my sofa all night, but Calan refused to come in when it was time to switch over. Said he was fine outside. Stubborn git.”
“They’re guarding you?”
“Apparently.” I shrugged as I walked back out to faceChester. “Think it’s overkill, personally, but it’s their time to waste, I guess.”
“Are they…” Chester’s voice trailed off momentarily. “Are they strong enough to fight your family?”
I snorted. “Please. Finn and Calan have more strength in their pinkies than my entire cl—” I caught myself. Shit. That was close. “—family put together. And that’s before we add Logan into the equation.”
Chester looked confused. “But Logan’s tiny.”
“Logan’s psychotic,” I said flatly, recalling the sheer glee in his voice as he described how he’d skinned a wolf responsible for hurting Riley last year. “Don’t underestimate him based on his size. Doesn’t mean anything with wo—ah, blokes like him.”
Great going,I berated myself.If you accidentally reveal the truth to Chester, Finn might deliver you to the Clarksons himself, all tied up with a pretty bow.
Maybe that was an exaggeration, but he wouldn’t be happy about it. Given everything the McCarthys were doing for me right now, I didn’t want to upset them. Any of them.
Not even Evan?
I tensed. Weirdly, Ididn’twant to upset Evan. Didn’t mean I wanted him in my life though. It was better for both of us this way.
“Did you mean to say wolf shifters?”
I froze, arm outstretched where I’d been reaching to turn on the computer. I blinked at Chester a few times as my brain raced to catch up to what he’d said. When it finally did, a huge grin spread across my face. “Shut the front door. Did Finn reveal his furry little secret?”
A laugh burst from Chester. “Man, I can’t wait to tell him you called it that.”
“He did.” I clapped my hands in glee as I realised what this meant. “Oh my god, does this mean you’re mated?”
Chester’s laughter faded away. “What? No, of course not. Why would it?”
I tapped my foot on the floor as I considered how honest to be. Fuck it, he already knew the biggest secret. There was no harm in sharing everything else too. “Supes usually only reveal their true nature to their mates.”
His face turned grim. “Well, he didn’t have much of a choice.”
That was when he explained what had happened the night before. How he’d choked on a tablet, and Finn had been forced to shift in order to save him.
There was one detail in his story that my mind fixated on. “Stop it. Are you trying to tell me that Finn, the terrifying and almighty leader of the great McCarthy Clan, has been spendingweekspretending to be a domestic pet?”
Chester winced. “You can’t say anything. This stays between us.”
I pouted. “Spoil my fun.”
“I mean it, Reid,” he said warningly. “You’re not to speak about this to anyone. Especially Logan.”
Ha. I could only imagine the shit Logan would give Finn for this.
“Fine.” I sighed dramatically. “It’s a good thing he was there.”
